A plan to pay women more

The Green Party has a plan to ensure that women and their families are treated fairly and paid better than they are now. We will:

Introduce pay transparency, by requiring employers to collect data on what they pay men and women.

Make public sector chief executives responsible for achieving equal pay for employees of core Government departments.

Amend the equal pay laws, to include agreed principles and an onus on employers to prove they are paying women fairly.

Fund an expert body to assist women so all pay equity claims are progressed efficiently.

Double the funding for the Ministry for Women to get a better deal for women.

Fund social marketing and education aimed at eliminating bias in employment.

Ensure the Minister for Women sits in Cabinet, not outside it, and ensure gender balance amongst Green Party ministers.

The gender pay gap for median hourly earnings is 9.4 percent, and for average hourly earnings is 13.1 percent. For Māori women, the gender pay gap is 24.5 percent, and for Pasifika women, it is 26.8 percent. Being underpaid has serious consequences. Over a year or a lifetime, the difference in women's ability to participate in society, put a roof over their heads or feed themselves and their kids is profound.

Equal pay can be thought of as equal pay for men and women doing the same job, whereas pay equity is equal pay for doing different jobs of the same value, with similar skills, experience, and responsibility.